


At the Castle of Lions

by orphan_account



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Reunion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-18
Updated: 2017-06-18
Packaged: 2018-11-15 10:02:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11228676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Matt runs into an old friend while out with Katie.





	At the Castle of Lions

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DYlogger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DYlogger/gifts).



> Happy Birthday Dee! Enjoy 1500 words of fluff and cuteness. <3

“Katieeeeee!” Matt cupped his hands around his mouth as he shouted, earning himself a few strange looks. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, and downtown was packed. He’d promised to take Katie to the comic book store, but they’d both gotten distracted by pokemon hunting, and the next thing he knew, his little sister was gone.

“Katie!  _ Space Rangers _ is a terrible series!” However, instead of the shriek of outrage that would’ve accompanied Matt’s statement, he could only hear the hubbub of the crowd. Panic began to tighten his throat, and Matt adjusted his glasses nervously. Katie was fourteen now, she could take care of herself, Matt reminded himself, but to be honest, there were always a few skeezy-looking types hanging around the comic book stores who could take advantage of a young girl…

“Matt!” Katie’s voice made him spin around, spotting a fawn-colored ponytail bobbing through the crowd. Behind her was a scarred man dressed all in black, a couple inches taller than Matt and well-built. Instinctively, Matt reached out and grabbed Katie’s hand, causing her to make a face at him. 

“Katie, you should know better than to…” Matt trailed off as he got a better look at the stranger. “ _ Shiro _ ?”

“Hi, Matt.” Shiro rubbed the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly. “Long time no see.”

Matt could only stutter ineffectively as he stared at his old Garrison bunkmate, who had gotten incredibly buff in the five years since he’d seen him. “Uh...yeah,” he finally managed. “Yeah, it’s been a while.”

“I saw him while I was trying to beat the gym.” Katie was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet as she talked. “He went to  _ Kerberos _ , Matt, that’s  _ way _ cooler than you!”

“Yup,” Matt said on autopilot, still staring at Shiro. “That’s Shiro, Mr. Cool.” He mentally kicked himself repeatedly.  _ Mr. Cool? _

Shiro burst into laughter, even as Matt continued to cringe. “You always had a great sense of humor,” he said fondly. “But yeah, it’s been a while. Do you want to catch up, or something?”

Katie got an absolutely evil glint in her eye. “He’d love to,” she said, answering for Matt. “I’m just gonna head over to the comic book store, you boys have fun talking.”

“Okay,” Matt said, his eyes not leaving Shiro. “Don’t punch anyone.”

“Don’t punch anyone?” Shiro echoed quizzically as Katie left.

Matt shrugged. “She has strong opinions.”

“Yeah, sounds about right,” Shiro chuckled. “There’s a nice little café just down the road - well, I work there, actually. Do you want to grab something?”

At this point, an alien spaceship could have landed in the middle of the street, and Matt would’ve still been staring at Shiro. “Yeah, sounds great.”

Shiro led him towards a small store, tucked between a dance studio and shoe store, named “The Castle of Lions”. Had Matt not been paying attention, he might’ve missed it entirely. The inside was all whites and blues, with low retro-style couches and beautiful galaxy prints on the walls. 

“Oh, hey Shiro!” A young man with brown hair and tan skin waved as they entered. As Shiro and Matt sat down, he placed some silverware and menus in front of them.

“Welcome to The Castle of Lions! I’m Lance, but he already knew that,” the young man added in a stage whisper as he jerked his head in Shiro’s direction. “What can I get you guys?”

“I’ll have…” Matt perused the menu. “Black tea and a lemon-orange muffin, please.”

Lance nodded, pleased. “Excellent choice, excellent choice, Hunk made those fresh this morning. The usual, Shiro?”

“That would be great.” The pair passed their menus back to Lance, who dashed back into the kitchen. As the doors swung open and shut repeatedly, they could plainly hear him screech, “ _ Oh my God, Shiro’s got a date! _ ”, followed by the clang of a pan hitting the floor.

“Laaaaance, you made me drop my cookies!” Someone, presumably Hunk, wailed. Meanwhile, Shiro and Matt both flushed crimson as they looked at the door, then back at each other. 

“I - um - is this-?” Matt gestured questioningly across the table, unable to form coherent sentences. Somehow, he found Shiro wanting to say  _ yes. _

“I mean, if you wanted, I wouldn’t want to presume-” 

Their awkward stammering was interrupted by Lance’s rapid reappearance, bearing a steaming teapot in each hand.

“Tea!” He announced a little too loudly as he set the teapots in front of them. “Enjoy!” He winked conspicuously at Shiro, who put his head in his hands as the younger man practically skipped away.

“So...that’s your co-worker?” Matt asked weakly, hoping to change the subject.

“Yeah, Lance does most of the waiting, and Allura helps him on busy days. Hunk does the baking, Keith makes the drinks, and Allura runs the business with her uncle Coran.”

“And what do you do?”

Shiro let out a self-deprecating chuckle. “Whatever needs doing, mostly. Cleaning, maintenance, occasionally security.”

“What?” To Matt, the place didn’t look like anyone would break in. “What do you mean?”

“We get…” Shiro pulled a face. “Some weird people here. They don’t always leave when asked. There’s one guy in particular that keeps on ranting about how this place should be his, and a lady that I’m pretty sure is some kind of cult leader. And, you know, when your staff is 50% teenage boys, things can get kind of rowdy in the back.”

Matt nearly sprayed his tea on Shiro - this definitely wasn’t your average coffee shop. But as he looked around, it definitely had the sort of cozy retro look he loved, and the tea was delicious. 

“So, from the Garrison to here,” he said slowly, “that must’ve been quite a transition.”

Shiro shrugged. “Honorable discharge,” he said as he indicated his face and hair. “I wanted something...quiet. I found this place on the job listings a year or so ago, and I’ve been working here ever since. The pay’s decent, and I get all the baked goods I want.”

Matt nodded quietly. He’d wanted to ask where Shiro’s scars and the frankly drool-worthy prosthetic had come from, but hadn’t thought it polite. “I’m working as a programmer for a hovership company, but Dad’s still with the Garrison - I guess you knew that. Katie still lives with Mom and Dad, but I live nearby, so I visit them a lot.”

“Yeah, Katie grew up a lot. She was what, ten the last time I saw her? She looks a lot like you.”

Matt smiled into his tea. “Yeah, you should’ve seen her with her hair short.”

They continued talking as another boy in a yellow apron placed two giant muffins in front of them, smiling smugly the entire time. Midway through their muffins, a woman of about Shiro and Matt’s age with a dazzling smile came to ask them how everything was. Matt nodded eagerly, his mouth too full of citrusy goodness to answer. Allura smiled blindingly at Shiro, who returned the winning grin. As she left, Matt swallowed his mouthful of muffin.

“Sooo…” He picked at the crumbs on his plate. “You and Allura?”

“What? No!” Shiro flushed again. “No, she’s really nice, but I don’t know, I don’t feel like it would work. Besides, it would be weird since I work here…”

“Oh, ok.” Matt continued studiously picking at his crumbs. Something in him was secretly pleased, but he couldn’t say exactly what. 

When the bill came, they bickered good-naturedly, with Matt eventually picking up the tab after much insisting. 

“This was nice,” he said shyly. “We should meet up again.”

“Do you have my number?” Shiro’s phone was instantly in his hand. “Text me whenever you want, I’m usually pretty good at responding as long as you don’t double text.”

In truth, Matt was a quadruple-texter, but he made a mental note to himself to try and break the habit. As he stood up, he found himself enveloped in a hug by Shiro. It lasted just a tad longer than was proper between friends, but Matt didn’t mind. As he waved good-bye to Shiro and the other workers who had gathered to watch him leave, Matt found himself practically walking on air. 

“I give it two weeks before Shiro asks him out,” Lance promptly announced.

Hunk shook his head. “Nuh-uh, ten bucks says Matt’ll ask first.”

“Ten dollars, and one of those chocolate pastry things.”

“Laaaance!”

“Um…” Shiro broke in. “I’m still here. And for the record, all of you snooping on my love life is creepy.”

Allura waved his concerns away. “Consider it a benefit. In the meantime, you’re working late shifts until you ask him out.”

“Or Matt asks him?”

“Or Matt asks him,” Allura confirmed.

Shiro groaned, placing his head in his hands. 

~~~

“Soooo, how was your date?” Katie grinned evilly from behind her stack of newly acquired comics. 

“It wasn’t a date!” Matt made a face as he started the car. “We were just...catching up, that’s all.”

“Suuuuure,” Katie singsonged. Matt’s phone buzzed, revealing a text from Shiro.  _ Same time next week _ ?

_ Sure _ , he sent back. Katie noticed his smile, and hers only grew wider. Matt glared at her.

“I’ll buy you comics every week if you don’t tell Mom and Dad.”

“Deal.”


End file.
